Negotiations
by sam938
Summary: Sam and Jack are just too happy for Daniel's taste, given the alien state of affairs. S/J but in Daniel's POV. Season 8; Jack's a general at the SGC; an A/U from there. Established S/J. Written in 2005. 4 chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Negotiations

Author:Sam938

Rating: PG13

Summary: Written in 2005. Sam and Jack are just too cheerful for Daniel's taste, given the alien state of affairs.

Content warning: none. A few swear words. No violence, no sexual situations.

Classifications: S/J romance. Daniel's pov.

Spoilers: Jack is a General in this and still at the SGC, so a future fic in season 8 or a now AU.

Archive: SJD yes. Others please ask.

Don't own the characters, etc. etc. and this was written for entertainment, not profit

Status: Complete. 3 chapters.

Feedback: Yes, that would be great, if you have the time. Thanks.

Part 1

Daniel Jackson grimaced at his companion as they walked down Corridor 21A towards the SGC main conference room. He wished, yet again, that "the General" would make an appearance.

Okay, to be fair, the guy walking next to him actually was "making an appearance." Unfortunately, appearance wasn't the problem. He was appropriately dressed in full military blues, not a hair… well …maybe a few… well...maybe a lot of… hairs out of place, but that really wasn't the point. They were now really short hairs, since Jack's series of latest haircuts.

Daniel shook his head, annoyed, and tried to focus. It was clear that Jack was on the verge of driving him totally insane.

Blues or no blues, the fact was that "the General" showed no signs of surfacing from the depths of the indecipherable individual arrayed in said blues strolling next to him down the corridor like he owned the place. Which he did, of course, sort of. But still. Currently what was in place of "the General", even though he was incredibly well dressed – except for the hair, of course --was an ironic, irreverent, annoying and extremely bouncy "Jack O'Neill" who, unlike his alter ego, showed no signs of submerging any time soon.

These days, Daniel swore Jack had a split personality. Maybe a Goa'uld really did finally get its… nah.

He sighed. They just didn't have time for this. And, just what the hell was Jack rambling on about now, anyway?

"…and anyway, it doesn't matter 'cause it's not gonna happen. Daniel, I tell you the Sox are going to win the Series again. You're imagining things if you think it's going down any differently next year."

Oh, yeah. Baseball.

"I'm not imagining anything, Jack, except that we never had this conversation. For the record, whatever that is, I don't care about baseball. I've never cared about baseball. I don't know how the hell we even started talking about baseball, not that I was."

"Bull."

Daniel tried again. "We need to focus; you need to focus on this meeting. The Hantari are being difficult about the terms of item 3 on the agenda and this new guy, whose name is--" He looked down at his notes, pausing.

"Ambassador Harror."

"Yeah. You remember his name?" Daniel couldn't quite keep the incredulity out of his voice as he verified the comment. "He just gated in last night."

Maybe "the General" was showing signs of surfacing after all. Uhuh, yeah, well, one could hope.

O'Neill shrugged.

Daniel cleared his throat, and decided to let the unfathomable mystery of how "Jack" had remembered the Ambassador's name descend into undefined depths, so they could get on to the more critical issues facing them in the upcoming meeting.

Then he remembered. "Sam was touring Harror around this morning, wasn't she?"

Jack, and it was definitely "Jack", just shrugged again.

Mystery solved.

Daniel regrouped. "OK, anyway, Harror's rumored to be the hard asses of hard asses, even though they say he has a sense of humor, whatever that is for the Hantari; his adherence to protocol is legendary; and he prides himself on having … uh… discriminating taste. "

Daniel could have sworn from the silence that for a moment he'd gotten "the General's" attention. But then "Jack" rallied.

"Yeah, sure… you betcha. Don't try to distract me, Daniel. It's not gonna work. You're just saying you don't care about baseball because your team lost. But I've always known you're a closet Yankee fan. That cat's out of the bag and it's not going back in. And this year you lost.

Jack's tone was positively gleeful… "and you're going to lose againnext year."

"Jack, I honestly don't follow …"

"Yep, you're so gonna lose."

"I really don't.."

"Lose, I tell you. "

Daniel tried again. "We have to – **you** have to -- have a plan. It's only the two of us and the Ambassador and I need to know how you're --"

"They're Toast. Completely and So Totally Toast. Totally Toasted Tarantulas."

"The way you start this negotiation is going to be critical --."

Daniel stopped short. "What?"

"What?"

"Did you actually say 'totally toasted tarantulas'?"

Jack shrugged once more, clearly gloating, and then did a double take. "You're right."

"I **am**?" Daniel responded in shock. It appeared that he'd actually gotten through "Jack" to "the General". It had to be a first.

He was wrong.

"Totally toasted tostadas has a better ring. Even the Yankees don't deserve to be compared to snakes and spiders. At least 'tostadas' is just a food group."

Daniel gave in, admitting defeat. "Okay. If I agree to being a closet Yankee fan and say that I think they'll win next year, can we talk about how you're going to start the negotiations that begin in the next five minutes?"

"And this you're willing to bet on?"

"Yeah. Anything. Whatever."

"You're agreeing that if the Sox win you will tape the Simpsons for me for two months and that if the Yankees win -- not that there's a chance in hell-- you will orchestrate the ceremony thingy for the Voltans next year?"

"Yeah. I – hey – that's not a bet. You win either way."

"OK, if you want to be that way, Daniel, we can talk point spread. I'm open. The odds are going to be –"

"Jack, no. No odds. I agree to the bet as it stands."

"If you're sure. I wouldn't want you to feel you didn't have some input into this."

"God, yes. I'm sure. Anything if we can end this … baseball …conversation."

"You're sure you're sure?"

"I'm sure I'm sure. I'm more than sure I'm sure. I am completely sure I'm sure."

"Well, if you're really really sure you're sure--."

" Damn it, Jack. I am absolutely positively sure I'm sure. As in, I agree to anything. Just stop."

"OK. Done."

Daniel glanced aside at Jack and then did a double take as they walked into the briefing room when he realized just what he'd agreed to and how he'd been maneuvered.

He finally realized to whom he'd been talking all along.

"Nice negotiating tactics, General. "

"Thanks." General O'Neill smiled one of his rare real smiles. "Yours could use some work. You're way too easy a mark."

Daniel grimaced. "And you're just way too damned cheerful lately. It's getting to be… "

"Annoying?"

"Yeah."

"I aim to please."

TBC..


	2. Chapter 2

Part 2

The General straightened as he turned away from Daniel and towards his conference table where the latest version of seemingly endless ongoing off world negotiators, as in this time, one Ambassador Harror was waiting.

"Ambassador."

The Ambassador stood and shook O'Neill's outstretched hand. "General. Doctor Jackson."

"Thank you for your cooperation, Ambassador. Dr. Jackson." O'Neill gestured to the table, indicating that they should be seated. "I think we're ready to begin."

O'Neill gestured to Daniel to start the discussion.

"Uhh, yes… how someone should begin this. That reasonably important question has been on my mind recently."

Daniel cleared his throat and began to summarize the main points of the previous negotiations, but stopped when it was clear that the Ambassador wasn't paying attention and kept looking at the conference room door.

"Is there a problem, Ambassador?"

"No, Doctor. "

At O'Neill's questioning look, the Ambassador finally clarified his distraction.

"Shouldn't we wait, General?"

"What are you …uhh… who… are you waiting for?" O'Neill left the question in his voice.

"I assumed that Colonel Carter would be attending the meeting. Her theories on the naquadah reintegration are quite interesting, and her input would clearly be invaluable in our analysis."

O'Neill broke in resignedly, "And because they're such 'interesting theories', you're hoping to get to know her… thoughts on any other …possible proposals that might be on the table."

"Yes."

"That's just swell."

The Ambassador's intrigued expression faltered as he watched O'Neill lean back, put his head in his hands, and rub his eyes.

Daniel flinched as he thought he heard Jack mumble, "I don't believe this. I do **not **believe this. This is **so** not happening."

It was hard to be sure.

"Daniel, tell me this is not happening again."

That he definitely heard. The plea in Jack's voice was unmistakable.

"Can't do that. I think it is…uh… happening again." He winced. "Sorry, Jack."

Daniel waited, feeling the guilt of the messenger who was delivering bad news yet again.

Jack finally looked back at him, denial and some sort of panicked resignation written on his face.

"No. It cannot be happening again. I won't have it. There's always the possibility that ...pigs can fly."

Daniel just shrugged.

O'Neill raised his left hand and gestured for Major Davis, who was waiting outside the glass wall of the conference room, to enter.

"Get Colonel Carter up here, will you? I'm sure she's just forgotten the time."

"Sir, she's not --" Davis paused when he noted O'Neill's glare. "Of course, sir. I'll let her know she's needed immediately."

"General, is there a problem?" The Ambassador's voice was a combination of confusion and annoyance.

"Ah, no. Of course not, Ambassador. Let's just say that there's always some confusion about Colonel Carter's role in negotiations with leaders of other worlds these days.

"She's busy with the naquadah reactor doohickeys and all. Just manages to sometimes …forget… what she's agreed to, and you know, because she's a scientist, we have to give her scientific license and all that."

The Ambassador's confusion lifted. "I see you understand her. I have to agree that she's a remarkable woman."

Daniel could have sworn he saw Jack wince. Luckily, it was too subtle for him to be absolutely sure or for the Ambassador to notice.

So much for the Hantari negotiations. It was not going to be a good day.

But "the General" rallied. "So, Ambassador, while we're waiting --small talk and all that…well." O'Neill cleared his throat. " Just what was it that you wanted to ask me about concerning Colonel Carter? Like, just perhaps details on her scientific background, military career? Anything … uhh… relevant to the discussion at hand?"

Daniel noted that Jack's tone was pathetically hopeful. He knew that it just **so** wasn't going to come down that way. But as Jack had mentioned, sometimes pigs could fly. They'd seen it once on P3X787, or at least Daniel thought it was a pig thingy.

He grimaced. He was really hanging around Jack too much lately.

The Ambassador smiled. "My interest is more personal. I've already read her files. I didn't intend to mention this in this meeting, but as long as that hasn't started yet and we're waiting, I thought, with your permission of course, that I'd ask the Colonel if she would have dinner with me this evening. As I said, her theories on the naquadah reintegration are quite revolutionary."

"General?" The Ambassador's voice trailed off as he saw that O'Neill was once more rubbing his forehead with his hand.

O'Neill finally looked back at the Ambassador. "Yeah, Carter's brains have always been her greatest… asset. And of course, as we're waiting and I'm the CO around here it's completely appropriate, even correct, for you to ask me what the proper protocol would be concerning intergalactic … discussions… of naquadah reactors over dinner."

"I thought that would be the most discrete approach."

"Oh yeah, you betcha. After all, I'm sure your interest in the Colonel doesn't have anything to do with her eyes, not to mention her legs or her smile, does it?" O'Neill paused and shook his head at himself in mock resignation. "Of course not."

"General, that was not my --"

There was something unreadable in O'Neill's unfocused eyes that looked slightly dangerous when he broke in and added, calmly, "And, of course, there's also her all-so-charming personality. Not to mention her all-so-charming ability to focus on one problem to the exclusion of all else."

He finally came out of his reverie and smiled ironically at the Ambassador. "Yep. Colonel Carter is a real package of assets."

"General, I'll admit that the Colonel is a very attractive woman, but it was not my intent to --"

"The Colonel's not part of the deal, Harror. Get that straight right now."

Daniel groaned. The General's tone was positively glacial. Yep, the negotiations were done.

Luckily, Harror looked horrified at the thought. "My apologies, General. I never meant to imply otherwise."

O'Neill rubbed the bridge of his nose, broke in and backed down. "Of course you didn't, Ambassador. **My** apologies, but sometimes, with cultural differences and all, it's better to state these things up front."

He ran his hand through his hair while he stared at the Ambassador. "Of course I understand now that yours is a simple question. You thought it might be nice to get to know the Colonel better and ask her to dinner or something. And you wanted to know if I'd find that to be a problem. Very appropriate and ambassadorial of you."

"Yes. I meant no disrespect."

"Of course not. And, of course, although you wouldn't know this, the fact is that it's now an everyday thing that Colonel Carter's attributes come up in my negotiations with allies in my briefing room."

O'Neill shook his head and sighed. " At least it has been lately."

"General, I certainly didn't mean--"

O'Neill threw up his hands, a gesture in any culture that clearly meant he'd had enough.

"Ambassador, for what it's worth, Colonel Carter makes her own decisions. My recommendation is that you ask her whatever you want, whenever you want, and see if you can figure out if you can understand her answer, just as long as I have nothing to do with it. And believe me, you will have my sympathy during the…figuring out… process. The Colonel manages to confuse me on an hourly basis."

With that, O'Neill pulled out his cell phone and looked back at Harror before he dialed. "Please excuse the interruption, Ambassador. But I think it's time I located the Colonel. I'm sure she'll explain everything to your satisfaction."

Daniel winced as he watched Jack wait patiently for Sam to pick up and groaned at the Ambassador's obvious unbridled curiosity. This situation was so not the way he had hoped the morning would come down. On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being disaster, he figured they'd just hit 11. It was way past time for damage control. He sighed and shut up. What was done, was done.

Sam finally picked up after the fourth ring. Jack didn't even bother to mask the conversation.

"Colonel?"

"Yeah, already. What? Why the cell?" Daniel winced. Sam obviously didn't realize she had an audience. But Jack didn't seem to care.

"Davis hasn't responded about your answering him via regular channels, and you're not here, so that means you ignored the lab phone. Which means you're playing with another doohinky."

Her lack of response clearly told Jack all he needed to know.

"Get up here, now. Ambassador Harror has some completely reasonable questions that he'd like to ask you, considering his lack of information. And you are going to answer him. You agreed to our deal to explain the situation when necessary. You can't back out now because you're distracted. "

"General, with all due respect, it's not a good time. This calibration is really touchy and, as you agreed earlier today, I promised Ambassador Harror I'd try to make sure he could take this back with him when he returns to his world."

"**Now**, Colonel. You promised me you'd take care of this kind of thing after the last time it happened."

There was a long pause. "What kind of thing?"

Jack sighed. "Damn it, Carter. This is the third time this month. It's annoying. You swore you'd pay attention. "

"I – oh. **Again?** I didn't think it had gone that far."

"You were wrong. And if I end up having to go Neanderthal in my own briefing room during negotiations with another world's representative again, you are going to owe me big time. It's embarrassing, not to mention bad for the good of the universe and all that."

The silence on the other end clearly told them all she wasn't listening.

"Carter, I mean it. You will owe me **big time**."

There was another pause, while she considered his words, her mind clearly distracted. "I really can't --How big?"

"Minnesota. Two weeks."

She sounded relieved. "Oh, well, if that all."

"No laptops, no naquadah reactors, no motorcycles."

There was a long pause at the other end of the line. "That's big."

"Yeah."

"Really big."

"Yeah."

"Can we take the plane?"

"No plane."

"Really really big."

"Take or leave it. If I do this, you owe me."

"I'll be right there."

O'Neill's cell phone clacked shut. He ran his hands through his hair, over his face and leaned back.

"Oy."

He finally refocused. "Ambassador, I apologize. There are some things that Colonel Carter needs to clarify for you. That she explicitly said **she** would clarify the next time this happened." The tone in his voice indicated that the lack of clarity didn't bode well for the Colonel.

Harror rose to her defense. "General, there's nothing wrong with –"

"Sir, I'm sure you're right." O'Neill stood up and looked at his watch. "Anyway, she should be here right about… now."

Carter strode into the room, looking annoyed and slightly embarrassed.

O'Neill looked back at Harror. "I'd like to reconvene this meeting after your talk with the Colonel, say maybe…" he looked down again at his watch "…at 10:00 hours. That should give her enough time to explain."

With that, he stood up, and shook the Ambassador's hand. "It's a real honor to know you, sir. I like a man with excellent taste, and trust me, you have excellent taste."

The look he threw at Carter would have withered roses. "Fix it, now, Colonel. Or you're doing KP for the next month's dinners. I swear."

She smiled. "Uhuh."

He smiled back, and put his hand on her face briefly. "OK, maybe not. But, damn it, Sam…you have got to quit being so… happy… on base. That's an order. It's confusing the riff raff. Hell, it's starting to wreak havoc in the great galactic order and you know I can't have that."

Daniel noticed that there was exasperation underneath the plea in Jack's voice. That was new. He sighed. It was bound to happen eventually, given what had been going on. Still…it would have been nice if…

Carter winced and then nodded. "Sorry, sir."

"Apology accepted."

As he turned to leave, O'Neill shook his head as Daniel started to get up from the table. "Uhuh. You stay. In case there's any … lack of clarity. You know how she is when she's playing with doohinkeys."

He looked to the Ambassador. "My apologies, sir, and my thanks for your patience." With that, he strode out of the room.

Sam watched him leave and then turned back to the table. She was glowing, her eyes bright with laughter, her smile luminous and her focus directed solely on the Ambassador.

Daniel heard the Ambassador's quick intake of breath, and watched him get up and bow to Sam.

He shifted gears fast. "Uhh… Sam?

"What?"

"Jack just told you to tone it down."

At her look of confusion, he clarified. "The…happy ... stuff."

"Ah." Carter looked down and then back up again. Her smile was distant, her tone professional, as she walked up to the Ambassador and shook his hand. "Ambassador, it's a real pleasure to see you again. How can I help you?"

TBC..


	3. Chapter 3

Part 3

A half an hour later, Daniel sat glumly next to the Ambassador, wondering exactly how this particular situation could be retrieved. It didn't look good.

The Ambassador was still staring at the door through which Sam had just left.

"Amazing."

Daniel had to agree with that. It had been an amazing day.

" Stunning. And…"

It was clear the Ambassador was speechless. Daniel put the man out of his misery. He'd heard too many descriptions of Sam over the last six months not to have the words ready to hand. " Yes; 'luminous, beautiful, sparkling, intense, glowing, incredible'-- well, that's few of them."

The Ambassador looked back, confused. "A few of what from whom?"

"A few of the recent descriptions of Sam from other individuals who have met her lately. You know, I think Jack's starting to get honestly annoyed."

"I don't understand. Why would the General care? And why didn't he simply tell me that she was committed?"

"Well, uhh, that's a tad awkward for him."

"I don't see why."

"I suppose if what you'd asked was whether Sam was 'attached' he would have answered yes, and then we would have been done with it. After all, he has done that before and no heads have been…uhh… busted during those discussions yet."

"No 'heads were busted' this time. But his reaction was different in this situation because?"

Daniel winced. "You have to understand that you asked him what the proper procedure was to date his wife. He never handles that question very well."

"His **wife**? Colonel Carter is his **wife**?"

"Uhh….Yes."

"Are you telling me that I asked him if I could have dinner with his …?"

"… wife? Yes. I guess that about sums it up."

The Ambassador coughed. "That is unfortunate."

"You could say that."

"There was no mention of their relationship in my files, although I do know they've worked together for nearly ten years." There was ice in the Ambassador's tone. "It's clear that Hantari intelligence teams are not what they once were."

Daniel broke in. "I wouldn't blame your teams, sir. Even though it's not a secret, Sam and Jack are one of the best-kept non-secrets in the SGC."

Harror was still taking it in. "And yet General O'Neill simply left when I asked… apparently… he is a tolerant man."

Daniel shrugged, debating it in his mind. "Well, I don't know about that. The first time someone asked him what the best way was to proposition Sam, he got a little… testy."

"This has happened before?"

Daniel nodded to himself, remembering. "Oh yeah, on a regular basis lately. There was the time that…"

Daniel coughed. "Well, anyway, that's not important." He shook his head, musingly. "You know, these questions always do seem to come up in the briefing room, and for some reason it's always Jack that gets asked about Sam." He looked over to the Ambassador, honestly confused. "Why is that?"

The Ambassador looked stunned. "I – perhaps because of the desire for confidentiality and a need to be assured that another world's protocol is being followed? Anyone in power would ask another leader what was acceptable in casual situations in order not to disrupt formal discussions because of an unfortunate and unintended social..." The Ambassador's voice dwindled off.

Daniel sighed. "Yeah, figured that, just hoped for a while it might be coincidental. And from what you say, we do probably need to expect this on a regular basis, or until Jack upsets Sam enough on a regular basis so that she's not quite so happy all the time."

Daniel tried not to be cheered by the last thought; after all, he did want Sam and Jack to be happy, but this … alien situation…happy problem … was getting ridiculous.

There was silence for a while. Daniel welcomed it. Unfortunately, he noted that the Ambassador's tone was annoyed when he finally commented, as expected, "I should have been informed of their connection. It would have precluded any awkwardness."

Jackson sighed. "Yes, sir, I agree. We should have explained. Given that this ... confusion…is now turning out to be an ongoing state of affairs affecting ongoing affairs of state, we're clearly going to have to work on …uhh… I mean figure out a way to explain how things are situated here at base for visitors. To be perfectly honest, it's for our own benefit as well. I honestly don't think the General can handle any more… discussions… about defining happy … in his briefing room."

Daniel shook his head. "It's not going to be easy, though."

The Ambassador rubbed his forehead. "What could possibly be so difficult? Why didn't General O'Neill simply introduce her as his wife? It would have been best for our discussions if …" The Ambassador left the rest of his thought unsaid. Daniel shrugged as he followed the unspoken thought to its inevitable conclusion.

"Oh. Well, that's an issue of protocol. Jack doesn't approve of mixing the personal and the professional. For that matter, the Air Force isn't really keen on it either. In fact, theirs is the only marriage I know of where they're allowed to work together. Their marriage, or even the fact that they are married, is never discussed on the base by anyone, mostly because staff knows about Jack's feelings about keeping the personal… personal and the professional …professional. But there's also an unspoken but unanimous agreement at the SGC to lock down any information about their personal lives to outsiders because they're both held in such high regard. SGC personnel all know their history, and they both have garnered … profound… professional respect over the years. Jack's 'the General' and Sam's 'the Colonel' or 'Colonel Carter.' Their connection's not been a problem. At least, it hasn't been before now. It's just recently that Sam can't seem to be able to stop being so… happy."

Daniel realized the Ambassador was staring at him with a bemused expression.

"Sorry, sir. To answer your question, no one mentioned it because it's never discussed and is not an issue on base. As I said, it's the best-kept non-secret around, and Air Force types are a pretty secretive bunch by nature. In fact, if we do have to start explaining anything to outsiders, it's going to cause some …consternation all through the SGC. The staff just isn't going to like it. They consider the lock down their personal mission. If we have to start talking about… connections…they'll consider it an intrusion into Sam and Jack's personal privacy, and that's going to make the staff…testy."

"I see. And you say this… outsider… problem only began when Colonel Carter recently started being …happy…?"

"Well, yeah, you saw. She's been smiling a lot….looking 'luminous and stuff' as Jack would say. Jack's been trying to tone her down, but you know, I think he has mixed minds about that one."

"I can imagine."

Daniel winced. "Uh, no, I don't think you can." Daniel paused, reflecting on the Ambassador's last comment about when and how the problem started. " Actually, now that you ask, it's not just Sam that's been the source of the confusion."

"She's not…"

Daniel glanced at the Ambassador, and noted that the man looked as if he'd just walked into Alice's looking glass. He tried to clarify fast. "Yes, sir. I mean, now that you mention it, the first time there was some confusion a representative of another world propositioned **Jack.**" Daniel couldn't quite keep the incredulity out of his voice. "We all thought it was a fluke, and then it happened again."

"I see."

"Sam wasn't very happy about any of that." Daniel cheered up, remembering a scowling and very annoyed Sam. It was a pleasant memory, given where he was and what he was having to explain. In fact it was even…

"Understandable."

Daniel did a double take. "What?" He reran the conversation through his mind. "Uhh, yes, I suppose it was logical that she'd be somewhat annoyed. Jack took care of both of those situations, and nothing's like that's ever happened again in that quarter."

"And so, if I understand you correctly, Doctor, you are asking my help on how to avoid this kind of unfortunate… misunderstanding concerning Colonel Carter and General O'Neill in the future, given that the General and the Colonel have a strong sense of privacy and a very ... protective … staff."

"Yes." He sighed. " But I guess it's unlikely. I mean, the situation is pretty unique."

"Perhaps if you provided a summation of their history as you call it, the part that is clearly not in my intelligence reports, I could help."

"I don't think that I should… "He rubbed the bridge of his nose underneath his glasses and sighed. "I suppose we do owe you an explanation."

"Yes, I think you do."

Daniel shook his head. "Well, from an anthropologist's and archivist's point of view, it's actually one of the great romances of the decade, maybe more than that, although didn't seem like it at the time."

He sighed. "After all, I did live through it. Some of it was fairly… tiring. But yes, I'd say most people in the SGC view it as a 'great romance.'"

Daniel rallied. "You see, on Earth, the concept of romance has its origins in early mythology. Campbell, in fact, suggests that it's one of the great mythical themes of humanity, perhaps one of the defining factors of our humanity. But it's been my observation that 'great' romances -- those that turn into legend or myth, are usually characterized by one of two situations: the participants are great leaders or individuals with unique and strong personalities; or the circumstances surrounding the story strikes some strong, universal cord. For example, denial due to duty and obligation seems to be a fairly common theme. The Greeks took that one to the limit with the Ulysses and Penelope saga."

"Doctor Jackson, please."

"Uhhh, sorry. Well, about Sam and Jack. To make a long story short, they worked together for years as colleagues -- saved the world and saved the universe, oh, nine, ten times or so until Jack finally decided he'd had enough, didn't want to live without her anymore, and insisted on retiring. And did so. Problem is – once you've been part of the military here, they can recall you any time. So that's what happened. The President recalled Jack to duty, but agreed to the caveat of a personal exception for them. They were married about six months ago."

Daniel sighed. 'That's when the … happy… stuff … started."

"I see."

"You do?"

"Yes. Thank you for the information. I have a much better understanding of with whom I am negotiating."

"You do?"

"Of course, Dr. Jackson. As you've stated, General O'Neill is a military leader, albeit a national hero on your world who's saved it numerous times, and who commands loyalty and respect from his subordinates, peers and commanding officers. From what you tell me, he's also a man who understands protocol and exhibits the characteristics of patience, persistence, and tolerance, and who I might add... has excellent taste."

"I said that?"

'Yes, Doctor you did."

"Are you sure we're talking about Jack?"

"Yes, Doctor. I think we are."

"Oh. Just thought I should be clear about that. Did I mention that he has a really weird sense of humor? Because I think you really ought to know that if…"

"Doctor Jackson, I understand. I too have often hoped that 'pigs could fly.'"

"Oh." Daniel cleared his throat. "Yes, then in that case, you and Jack actually might be able to come to terms."

"I look forward to the opportunity to discuss our options with him. My assessment does not solve your …happy… problem, however."

"No, no it doesn't."

"Are you absolutely sure the General would like it solved?" The Ambassador paused. "Perhaps some confusion on general points can lead to clarity on others."

TBC…


	4. Chapter 4

Part 4

O'Neill walked back into the briefing room at exactly 10:00 hours. "Ambassador? I assume all is clear and we can resume--uh… begin our discussion?"

"Of course, General. Please accept my apologies and my admiration. You're a very lucky man."

"Ah. Well, yes. Please accept my admiration as well, Ambassador. I see we understand one another. It's nice to meet new friends with good taste."

"I can assure you that I feel the same. Now, if we could begin…"

Daniel watched with a bemused expression as Jack and Harror came to an agreement on agenda item number 3 in less than ten minutes; the item that had held up previous negotiations for the last month. He thought it through. Jack was considered to be a brilliant military tactician, from what the Air Force types told him. It wasn't possible…couldn't be possible … that he might have translated those skills from the field to the boardroom and orchestrated this whole …

Nah. It was Jack, after all…

But… if Jack had orchestrated this, and he was going to be assigned the designated "apologetic explaining fall guy" as a regular practice, they were going to have some serious talks. It was tiring.

Nah. It was Jack, after all…

One thing was clear. He was never agreeing to a bet with Jack about baseball again.

End.

Copyright © 2005. Sam938


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